Statement from Toronto Community Housing President and CEO Gene Jones

Toronto Community Housing President and Chief Executive Officer Eugene Jones Jr. issued the following statement today.

Date:

June 6, 2013

First, I want to thank the Ombudsman for her report and for her office’s continued work in helping Toronto Community Housing be more accountable and transparent.

I have accepted all the recommendations. The company will work diligently to implement them in a timely manner.

The Ombudsman recognizes that preventing evictions is a complex issue. We acknowledge that vulnerable residents have unique needs that we must consider when they are facing potential eviction for not paying rent.

There is considerable change underway to make Toronto Community Housing a landlord of excellence. With the full support of the board, I have vigorously pursued this goal since joining the company one year ago.

We are realigning our organization to deliver better service, improve tenancy management, and establish clear roles and accountabilities for every employee.
We have set clear expectations for staff that they must always follow our policies, procedures, protocols and practices in their daily work.

We are strengthening partnerships with social services and support agencies to better identify vulnerable residents and be better and faster in getting them the care they need.

And while improvements have been made, we are not where we should be in implementing the LeSage Report. We will change that. We will complete all the improvements we have committed to make, and do so as quickly as we can.

To our vulnerable seniors and indeed all residents of Toronto Community Housing, I say this: While we are not the company we were a year ago, clearly there is more that we have to do to re-earn your trust.

You deserve the best service we can deliver. We should always be reasonable, open, fair, and helpful in our dealings with residents, and always treat people with respect.

I will be accountable to you, our residents, and to our board and our shareholder, for making that happen.